The requisite speeches given, the obligatory handshakes offered, the Admiral of the Colonial Fleet and the former (and soon to be reinstated) President of the Twelve Colonies were anxious to escape the celebration taking place on Galactica's hangar deck. The crew were indulging in the Chief's homemade hooch and conducting raucous reunions. Backs were being slapped, jokes being told and laughed at as music from someone's portable wireless echoed through the cavernous space.

Bill and Laura observed the growing rowdiness from a respectable distance. Without taking his eyes from the revelry in front of them, Bill leaned towards Laura and said, "They needed this."

Laura nodded and offered an affirmative "Hmm."

It had been just days since Galactica's heroic return to New Caprica and the escape of what remained of humanity from that gods forsaken planet. While the time would come when everyone had to deal with the hell that was New Caprica under Baltar's "presidency" and the Cylons' rule, tonight was about forgetting.

The Admiral and the former president needed this, too. This party. This excuse to be together. Bill had seen Laura only briefly since her return - since her Raptor's arrival on this very deck two days ago. They hadn't even spoken then - each drawn into separate crowds of people and away from the other. They'd locked gazes before losing sight of each other and had communicated their shared relief, optimism, joy in that look. Since, the Admiral had been busy working to reintegrate his crew and assess and assign the crew from Pegasus. Laura had been making arrangements for the re-establishment of the Colonial government, as well as attempting to see to the needs of tens of thousands of civilians.

Now, having set aside their responsibilities for the night, they were finally together. But they weren't yet alone. And after having been separated for more than four months, they wanted to be alone together. Bill looked over at Laura and was struck anew with desire. She was once again clad in her "presidential uniform" - jacket over the green blouse, the short black skirt that revealed an obscene length of those legs, the heels. He thought maybe her hair was longer, her eyes greener. And she was here. He ached to touch her, and so leaned into her personal space, whispered in her ear "You ready to get outta here?"

Laura closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. "I thought you'd never ask," she sighed. Bill chuckled and met her smile with one of his own when she turned to look at him.

As they took their first steps towards freedom, Kara bounded up to them, Sam Anders in tow.

"Admiral, ma'am," she nodded in greeting. "Helluva party, huh?"

Bill, pushing down his annoyance at being held up, agreed. "Looks like things are starting to heat up." He gestured to Laura and continued, "We were just about to make a graceful exit. Leave you young folks to it."

Starbuck shook her head. "Not yet. You haven't shared a toast with us."

At this, she swallowed the last of what was in the tin cup she held, grabbed the jar of Galactica's finest tucked into her waistband and poured a refill. As Kara thrust the cup into Bill's hand, Sam held a duplicate out to Laura with a sloppy smile. She accepted the proffered drink and looked at Bill dubiously. When he just shrugged his shoulders, Laura rolled her eyes and sighed. Kara and Sam raised their jars of moonshine aloft and waited for Bill and Laura to do the same. When they did, Kara said "To family reunions!" and she and Sam brought the jars to their lips.

Laura, desperate to hasten their departure, lifted the cup to her mouth and knocked back the drink in one go. And immediately regretted the move. She was sure she'd just swallowed acid. Flaming acid. The burning liquid scorched a path down her throat until it erupted in a fireball in her gut. She nearly doubled over, attempting to catch her breath in the grips of a coughing fit. Kara fairly bubbled with laughter and Sam looked on with his stupid, sloppy smile. Bill reached to pat Laura on the back.

"You okay?"

She waved him off and straightened up. She held up her empty cup in salute, dipped her head and choked out "Smooth," setting the other three to laughing.

Bill finished his drink, took the cup Laura was holding and handed them both to Starbuck.

"I think it's time we called it a night. Thanks for the drink."

Laura snorted, said "Yeah, thanks a lot."

Kara snapped off an exaggerated salute, said "Anytime, sirs" then threw her arm around Sam's waist and barked out a laugh.

Bill was shaking his head as he looked at Laura and offered her his arm. She slid her hand into the crook of his arm and said "Let's get the hell outta here."

They turned to set off across the deck just as Lee started towards them unsteadily. At his muttered "Ah hell," Laura looked up and followed Bill's gaze in time to see Lee stumble, catch himself, then continue towards them on wobbly legs. She tightened her grip on Bill's arm, said "Let's move," and began propelling him towards the hatch.

Bill chuckled and picked up his pace to match hers."He's drunk," he said. "He'll never catch us."

"Let's not chance it."

When they reached the hatch, Laura dropped her hand from Bill's arm as he moved to open it. While he spun the wheel, she looked over her shoulder and saw that Lee had been stopped by his wife. From the look on his face, Laura guessed that Dee was chewing him out. Satisfied that they wouldn't be detained again, she turned back as Bill was stepping through the hatch. He turned to offer her his hand and she took it. As she made to move through to the corridor, the heel of her shoe caught on the strip of metal at the threshold. She tripped into Bill's arms with a surprised grunt. He righted her and held her at arm's length, grinning at the flush on her face.

"I think that poison that passes for an alcoholic beverage is frakking with my balance," she said, offering him a crooked smile.

"Can you make it to my quarters?"

"Try and stop me" she said, moved around him and struck off. Bill secured the hatch they'd just come through, turned and quickly closed the distance she'd put between them. When he had drawn even with her, he took hold of her elbow and matched her stride. Bill caught her eye and Laura laughed when he waggled his eyebrows at her.

"In a hurry?" he asked.

"You have no idea," she practically groaned in response.

When they finally rounded the corner and slowed to descend the few steps to his cabin, Bill moved his hand from her arm to push against the small of her back. Laura laughed and said "Now who's in a hurry?" They had to stop short at the closed hatch and Bill gently shoved her aside to spin the wheel and pop it open. He stepped back to allow her entry but couldn't keep his hands off her as she passed in front of him. He put his hands on her hips, said "Watch your step," and guided her through to his quarters.

Bill had barely pulled the hatch shut behind him when Laura launched herself at him, pushing him back against it. Her hands were in his hair, her body pressed tightly to his, her lips hard on his mouth. The tip of her tongue was sliding along his lips before he responded, opening his mouth to her insistent kiss and wrapping his arms tightly around her ribs. Laura moaned and rolled her hips into his, desperate for the contact. As the kiss became more ardent and Laura more forceful, Bill became painfully aware of the hard metal wheel of the hatch digging into his back. He moved his hands to her hips, pushing her body from his, ending their kiss abruptly with a wet smack as the motion separated them.

Laura's eyes flew open and she took a step back, raising one hand to cover her mouth. Bill watched as her expression changed from confusion to doubt to embarrassment.

"Bill, I'm so sorry. I -"

"No, Laura - gods no. The hatch - my back ..." he stammered, attempting to reassure her as he reached for her.

He saw relief flood her features as understanding dawned. She hung her head, looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes and quietly said "You had me worried there for a minute."

Bill offered her a small smile, brought a hand up to brush his knuckles over her cheek.

"I've missed you, Laura."

He moved the hand from her face to cup the back of her head, bringing her to him for a kiss. Confident again in his intentions, Laura wrapped him in a crushing embrace and deepened the kiss. She felt his lips turning up into a smile under her kisses, pulled back and asked breathlessly, "What? What's wrong now?"

"Nothing. I'm enjoying your enthusiasm," he chortled.

"Well I am a bit -"

"Tipsy?" he suggested.

"Horny," she supplied, and smiling wickedly, leaned her head in to capture his mouth again. "It's been too long, I've missed this - you - so much," she panted between kisses. She stripped off her jacket and let it fall at their feet. "I can't... don't wanna wait..." she breathed into his mouth, grinding her hips against his burgeoning erection.

Bill pulled his mouth from hers to trail kisses up her neck, to her ear, rasped "The longer the waiting, the sweeter the kiss."

"Frak that," she huffed, running her teeth along the skin of his neck. "We've waited long enough."

With a gravelly "So say we all," Bill sucked her earlobe between his teeth, bit gently down on it. He grabbed a fistful of hair at the back of her neck and pulled, forcing Laura's chin in the air. He dragged his lips across the soft skin of her exposed throat, sliding his other hand from its place at her hip to the hem of her skirt. She mewled her pleasure and shuddered as he stroked the tender skin of her inner thigh with a firm touch. Her skirt followed the path of his hand, rising until he cupped her through the cotton barrier of her panties. Laura let loose a throaty hum and pushed shamelessly into his hand, heard Bill's quick intake of breath as her leg brushed against his erection.

Feeling his arousal served to compound her excitement and she rocked her pelvis into his touch, pressing her thigh harder against his length. Bill growled and snapped his head up from her neck, guiding her backwards until her ass made contact with the dining table. He returned his mouth to hers, meeting her eager tongue with renewed vigor. Without breaking the kiss, he moved both hands to where the hem of her skirt now sat high on her thighs, pushed it roughly up until it bunched around her waist, revealing her plain white underwear. He quickly returned the hand to between her legs, moved the other around to grab her ass, bringing her body more tightly to his.

Laura pulled out of the heated kiss and dropped her head to his shoulder as she continued to writhe in time with the movement of Bill's hand. Her breath hitched when he pulled the crotch of her panties aside to push a thick finger inside her. Bill groaned a stilted "So wet..." into her hair and ground against the thigh she'd kept between his legs. He slid a second finger into her body, pressed his thumb to her clit, eliciting a long moan from Laura. Encouraged by her reaction, he continued to frak her with his fingers, rubbing her clit in a steady rhythm as she clutched his shoulders for support.

"Gods, Bill," she breathed, "Oh gods, don't stop, Bill ..."

"You like that," a statement, not a question.

"Y-yesss," she hissed.

"You gonna come, Laura?"

"Yes, yyyesss... don't... stop..." she commanded as the movement of her hips, his fingers moving in and out of her, his hardness sliding along her thigh, reached a frenetic pace.

"C'mon, Laura - right now. I wanna watch you come."

And as though following the Admiral's order, Laura threw her head back, arched her back and cried out as her orgasm wracked her body. Bill was captivated as he looked on, felt her muscles spasm around the fingers he'd stilled inside her body. As he bent to capture with his tongue a bead of sweat making its way down her neck, Laura's hips jerked involuntarily with the waning of her climax. When he pulled back to look at her again, she dropped her forehead to his chest and sucked in a long breath.

As he withdrew the hand from between her legs, Laura lifted her head to place a lingering kiss on his mouth. He pulled his face from hers and bought his hand up to run a wet finger over her lips before kissing her again, licking the musky moisture from her mouth. She raised a hand to his weathered cheek and broke the kiss as a slow smile spread across her face. She looked at him through hooded eyes, whispered, "That was good," kissed him again and sighed, "Sooo good," then nuzzled her face into his neck.

He rumbled, "That was sexy, Laura," and squeezed her ass for emphasis.

He laughed at her muffled "Do I turn you on, Bill?" and took one of her hands in his, sliding it down to rest on the bulge in his pants.

"Yeah, Laura, you make my dick hard."

She stirred at his words as much as the action, took him firmly in hand and angled her head to run her tongue along his neck. She sucked at his skin there, careful not to leave a mark. Laura stroked him through the fabric of his uniform, leaning back to look at his face. His eyes were closed, nostrils flaring, jaw clenched.

"Give me your eyes, Bill."

His lids slid slowly open at her command and he had to work at focusing his gaze on hers. When she was sure she had his attention, she murmured, "You gonna frak me now?"

"Yes, Laura," Bill promised as he reclaimed her mouth and tugged her shirt from the crumpled mess that was the skirt at her waist. As his hands slipped under her shirt, traveled up the smooth expanse of her belly to cover her bra-clad breasts, he said "I'm gonna frak you now, and it's gonna be hard and fast -"

"Bill?"

"Hmm?"

"Quit talking about it and just do it."

He squeezed her breasts together roughly, thumbed the rigid peaks of her nipples through the lace of her bra and responded with a hearty "Yes, ma'am."

With a force that was probably greater than necessary, he gripped Laura's hips and spun her around to face the table.

"Bend over."

As she complied with a sharply inhaled breath, supporting herself with her elbows on the table in front of her, Bill bent behind her and yanked her underwear down to her knees. He quickly righted himself, placed one hand flat on the small of her back and unzipped and withdrew himself with the other. He took himself firmly in hand and stroked the tip of his cock down the crack of her ass, rubbed it along her slick folds. They both moaned at the contact. Bill pushed into her then, hand still tightly wrapped around his shaft, and began frakking her with the head of his cock in short, quick strokes. Laura jerked a glance over her shoulder and pressed her ass back into his lap, attempting to take more of him into her body.

Taking the hint, Bill removed the hand from around his dick, took hold of her hips and slowly pushed his thick length into her, stretching and filling her. When he was completely sheathed in her wet heat, he stilled.

"Gods, you are so tight," he groaned.

Laura whimpered and circled her hips. Bills eyes drifted shut and his head fell back as his dick twitched at the movement. He tightened his grip on her hips and ground into her before slowly pulling back and plunging in again. He opened his eyes, gaze drawn to where their bodies were joined. As he began frakking her with long, sure strokes, Bill watched his cock, glistening with the wetness of her arousal, slide in and out of Laura's body.

In front of him, Laura splayed her hands on the wood table and pushed up onto her arms. Locking her elbows, she moved her lower body to meet Bill thrust for thrust. Her long curls fell to curtain her face from view as her head sagged. She drew in a long breath, sighing his name on its slow release from her lungs.

Bill reached a hand up and closed it tightly around her shoulder and began driving into her with barely controlled force. Laura lifted her head and gave it a quick toss to the side, sending her hair spilling back over Bill's hand, wrist. When he tore his gaze away from the sight of her ass rippling from the impact of his thrusts to glimpse her profile, he saw she wore an expression of naked passion. Her eyes were closed and she'd drawn one side of her lower lip into her mouth, held it there with her teeth. Her face was flushed and loose tendrils of hair stuck to her sweaty brow.

"Laura, you are so beautiful -"

"Mmm..."

" - so sexy."

His hand at her hip left its place to skim over the curve of her ass as Bill brifely stilled his movements, savoring the moment.

Laura pushed back into him and whimpered impatiently, "Frak me, Bill, please..."

At her request, he returned the hand to her hip and began pounding into her.

"This what you want, Laura?" he grunted.

"Yesss, gods yes. Oh, please, Bill, frak me - harder..."

Her voice, her words, the sound of their flesh slapping wetly together all threatened to undo him. He bit down on his tongue, trying to ward off his impending release. The effort was futile.

"Laura - ah, godsdamnit, I'm gonna come, can you -"

"I'm ... right there... with you..." she panted.

Having given up on fighting against the inevitable, Bill drove into her with abandon. As his orgasm approached, his movements became erratic, his rhythm lost.

"Laura -"

"I'm - OH! Oh, my gods, oh my gods, yesss, Billll..." she shouted as she arched her back and came fiercely.

Upon her vocal release, a drawn out "F-frak" escaped through Bill's clenched teeth as he jerked his hips and came hard.

Laura's arms collapsed beneath her and she dropped to her stomach on the table, her chest heaving. Bill slid his arms around her waist and pressed his chest to her back, drawing ragged breaths as his cock continued to pulse inside her. She turned her head, resting a heated cheek against the cool surface of the table, and puffed out a breath to blow an errant strand of hair from her face.

They lay together like that for a moment, Bill softly brushing a hand up and down Laura's side, each easing down from the heights of their orgasm. As the haze began to clear from her mind, Laura became increasingly aware of the buttons and hard seams of Bill's uniform jacket pressing uncomfortably into her back through the thin material of her blouse. She was also having a difficult time catching her breath, as Bill's weight crushed down on her from behind. She struggled to pull her arms underneath her and push up against his chest.

"Bill. Get off me. I can't breathe," she gasped.

She felt his body shake slightly with a chuckle before he planted a kiss at the back of her neck and moved to brace his weight with a hand to either side of her. He dipped his head towards her upturned ear and said, "You take my breath away too, Laura."

He pushed off the table to stand upright, his softening cock slipping from her body to hang limply over the elastic of his hastily pushed down boxers. Laura rolled onto her shoulder, a wide grin splitting her face. Bill took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She felt the warmth of his ejaculate making a slow trail from inside her, spreading to coat the inside of her thighs with sticky wetness.

Literally weak in the knees from their encounter, Laura slid her arms around his waist, dropped her head to his chest. Bill wrapped his arms around hers, pulled her more tightly to him and rested his chin on top of her head. With a satisfied sigh, she eventually lifted her face to his and graced his lips with a tender kiss. He pulled back from her mouth and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Worth the wait?"

Her lips curled into a smile and her eyes sparkled as they met his. "You bet," she answered as she moved in for another kiss. They shared sweet kisses until their mutual smiles made it impossible to continue to do so. They stood for a moment, foreheads pressed together in their embrace.

Bill was first to break the contact. He took a step back from her and, resting his hands on her hips, took in Laura's appearance. His eyes traveled from her still-shod feet, followed her shapely calves to where her panties stretched taught around her knees, over the wiry curls between her legs, to where her skirt sat bunched in a mass of wrinkles at her waist. His eyes trailed over the disheveled shirt that stuck to her sweaty body, up to where her tangled hair framed her flushed face. She squirmed a bit under his scrutiny, gave him a sheepish smile. He shook his head and laughed.

"You're a mess."

She snorted. "Flatterer."

"I think they call that look 'Fabulously Frakked.' "

Laura smiled and stepped closer to him, put her hands on his chest. "An accurate reflection of how I'm feeling right now, Admiral," she said softly, toying with the brass buttons of his jacket.

"I serve at the pleasure of the President," Bill quipped, though she wouldn't be sworn in again until the following day. She smiled at him and gave his chest a gentle shove, forcing him to take a step back.

"All kidding aside, Bill, I'm gonna have to get cleaned up."

He nodded and stepped aside, sweeping his arm out to indicate a path. "You know where everything is."

Her eyes flicked over to the hatch at the head and back again. She cocked her head in that direction. "You coming?"

"Right behind you."

Laura bent to pull her underwear down the length of her legs and off her feet, dropped them to the deck. She kicked out of her shoes as Bill unbuttoned and removed his jacket. He watched her cross the distance to the head, not having bothered to pull the rumpled skirt down from around her waist. He smacked her now-bare ass as she brushed by him. Though she jumped and emitted a startled little yelp, she turned her head and flashed a smile as she crossed the threshold into the head.

She moved straight to the shower, ducked her head behind the curtain, twisting the knobs until she was satisfied with the temperature of the running water. She pulled two towels out from under the sink and threw them over the rod. Bill came in as Laura was shimmying out of her skirt and beginning to unbutton her blouse. She tossed him a smile and a wink in the mirror. She noticed that he'd removed his boots and socks and had left his jacket outside over the back of a chair. He flashed her a grin of his own as he stood behind her in the mirror and pulled the tanks over his head. Laura reached back to unhook her bra and turned to face him as the straps were sliding down her arms. He'd pushed down his trousers and was stepping out of them when she sling-shot her bra at him. It hit him square in the face and he blinked and flinched slightly in surprise. When he looked over at her she was wearing a broad smile. She chuffed out a short laugh before rolling her eyes upwards and giving a little shrug of her shoulders. He stepped over the bra to stand in front of her and took her face in his hands. He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth.

"You tryin' to be cute?"

"I don't have to try - I'm just naturally cute."

She quickly kissed him back before breaking for the shower. Bill slipped in behind her as Laura turned her face up into the spray. As she raised her hands to draw them over her face and back into her hair, Bill raised his hands to her breasts. He dropped his chin down to her shoulder and pressed a kiss into her neck. Laura moved to turn around in his arms and Bill's hands slid against her wet skin. When she stopped to face him, her hands upon his biceps, he was palming her breasts. She spit water into his face and laughed as he sputtered. At his petulant look, Laura lifted a hand to cup his craggy face and murmured,"Let's get clean before we get dirty again."

She kissed him as the water sprayed against her back. Bill broke from the kiss and stepped around her into the stream of water. Laura began to soap up behind him. Then she stepped around him to rinse under the flow as he lathered up behind her. They continued this dance until both had shampooed and rinsed their hair and Bill reached to turn off the water.

They each pulled down a towel to begin the process of drying their bodies. They bumped knees and elbows trying to maneuver around each other in the small stall until Bill finally stepped out into the head. Laura bent over to wrap the towel around her wet hair.

She exited the shower as Bill was closing his towel around his waist. She plucked his robe from the hook on the wall beside the hatch and slipped into it. Laura gathered her discarded clothes and left the head as Bill ran a hand through his wet hair at the mirror above the sink.

When he walked out into the cabin, Bill headed to his wardrobe to fish out a clean pair of boxers. He dropped the towel and pulled on the underwear, glancing over to where Laura stood folding her shirt. She placed it on top of the skirt already neatly folded on the table, bent to retrieve the underwear she'd ditched earlier. As she stood and added the panties to her little pile of clothes, he asked "Can you stay?"

She hesitated before answering. "That depends."

Bill raised an eyebrow, "On..?" he prompted.

She flicked her gaze down to her bare feet, then raised her eyes to lock onto his again. "Can I use your toothbrush in the morning?"

He cracked a grin. "What's mine is yours, Laura."